TUF Brazil 3 Finale results, photos: Elias Silverio taps out tough Ernest Chavez

SAO PAULO – No one told Ernest Chavez that Elias Silverio was probably supposed to walk through him on Saturday night.

And though Silverio (11-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) ultimately choked Chavez (7-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) late in the fight, Chavez made Silverio work for it as a game underdog.

The lightweight bout was part of today’s TUF Brazil 3 Finale event at Ibirapuera Gymnasium in Sao Paulo, Brazil. It aired on FOX Sports 1 following additional prelims on UFC Fight Pass and ahead of a main card on FOX Sports 1.

Silverio and Chavez traded punches and kicks through the first minute of the fight. Silverio landed good kicks, but Chavez was unafraid to fire back. Ninety seconds in, the two tied up with Silverio attempting a takedown, but the fight stayed standing. Silverio eventually landed low, and Chavez took a few seconds to recover. On the restart, SIlverio unleashed a barrage of solid knees and they tied up again. A big right hand from Chavez wobbled Silverio at the end of the frame, likely enough to keep his attention into the second.

Silverio landed a solid kick in the second, and Chavez responded by clinching up against the fence. Eventually, the two were broken up by the referee and went back to the center, where Silverio landed a solid left hook. But throughout the frame, Chavez continued to soldier on, and he even landed some solid punches of his own. But Silverio hurt him late in the frame, but Chavez made it to the third.

In the third, Silverio continued to try to work inside kicks – and again caught Chavez low. But Silverio didn’t lose a point for the infraction, and when the restart came, he landed a nice spinning kick. Late in the round, Silverio went after a takedown. He finally got it and quickly transitioned to Chavez’s back, where he locked in a rear-naked choke.

With the choke on too tight, Chavez had no choice but to tap after standing toe-to-toe with the heavily favored Silverio for more than 14 minutes.

Silverio stayed perfect and moved to 3-0 in the UFC, and did so in front of his hometown fans. Chavez lost for the first time in his pro career.

Up-to-the-minute TUF Brazil 3 Finale results include:

For complete coverage of the TUF Brazil 3 Finale, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(John Morgan contributed to this report on-site in Sao Paulo.)